What is known about alleged shooter in foiled Trump assassination attempt

Alleged Trump assassin Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving to Kaaawa, Hawaii, in 2018, according to records reviewed by news outlets.

Routh and his son operated a company building sheds, according to an archived version of the webpage for the business obtained by the Associated Press. 

Routh posted on social media about the war in Ukraine and had a website on which he tried to raise money and recruit volunteers to go to the country to join the fight against the Russian invasion. 

He made a post in June 2020, on the social media platform X, suggesting then-President Donald Trump to win reelection by issuing an executive order directing the Justice Department to prosecute police misconduct and another in support of the Democratic presidential campaign of then-U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.

However, in recent years, his posts appear to have soured on Trump and expressed support for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the wire service also reports.

This summer, following the assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania, Routh urged President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to visit those wounded in the July 13 shooting at the hospital and attend the funeral of a fireman killed at the rally. 

Voter registration records show he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012, most recently voting in-person during the state’s Democratic Party primary in March 2024.

Routh also made 19 small pollical donations totaling $140 since 2019 using his Hawaii address to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates, according to the federal campaign finance records reviewed by the Associated Press.